The Project Files: More on my mind than turkey

“More on my mind than turkey…”

I read somewhere online that this show has a bit of a curse. I’m starting to believe that.

We are at six injured fighters for this show that we’ve had to pull off.

I think that might be a record for Tachi Palace Fights.

Good news is that we found someone to replace Will Campuzano. Josh Rave will step in and take the fight with the world’s No. 1 ranked Ian McCall for the TPF Flyweight title.

We searched high and low for an opponent, negotiating with such standouts as Rambaa Somdet and Jussier da Silva. For one reason or another things just didn’t work out… with anyone initially.

Once we had scratched a few names off of the top of our list of fighters to possibly match with McCall, Rave was at the top of a short list.

We were lucky that he was in fight shape, healthy and was eager to take the fight. Rave is a veteran that I’ve been following for some time now. I monitor the 125-pound division pretty closely and have been able to catch a few of his key fights over the years.

He’s ranked in the top-10 in many different rankings and I think that he’s probably considered the No. 2 guy in the U.S. – McCall obviously being No. 1 and guys like Alexis Vila and John Dodson now fighting at 135 have been taken out of the equation.

I would have loved to have the matchup with Somdet, just because of the styles, but he did not want to take the fight… even asking for more money and us accepting the terms, he still turned down the fight through his manager.

Da Silva would have also been a nice addition to the card, but he was unable to secure a visa in time to make the fight.

At the end of the day, we are putting together another great flyweight fight and continuing to show the world what these guys have to offer.

Now to the bad news; I’m in search of not one but TWO lightweights now.

Earlier this week I received a call that Chris Huerta had injured his stomach in practice and had to withdraw from his fight with Bubba Jenkins – one of the fighters I am most excited to see on the card.

Much like McCall or even Fabricio Camoes (whom I’m also looking for an opponent for), people aren’t knocking down the door to fight Jenkins, who is an NCAA Wrestling Champion from Arizona St.

Matchmaker Richard Goodman and I have our work cut out looking for a high profile 155’er to fight Camoes and a fighter ready to step in and fight Jenkins.

It’s been a difficult card to manage in what is one of the most important times of the year for us. We want to go out with a bang in 2011.

Advertising is starting to kick in more now and press releases are starting to be sent out. The build up to the show is going to be great.

We are also going to be doing some great promotions for this event like $5 off Early Bird special on tickets, $10 in Tachi Cash at the night of the fights, etc.

The dates are also starting to close in for fighters to turn in their medical paperwork, tickets and ticket money.

And then they’ve got to deal with Thanksgiving … there will be no 5-pound weight allowance.

“The Project Files” by Jeremy Luchau is a weekly blog series here at ProMMAnow.com which gives readers an inside look into the life of an MMA promoter. It is part of our ongoing series of exclusive content written by individuals involved in the mixed martial arts industry.